3/6/09

Counting our blessings

It's easy to feel frightened and worried with the economy failing more every day. Although I feel that we have made fairly wise financial decisions (we have no debt other than our mortgage, we spend less than we make, and we have a reserve of food in case of emergency), the fact still remains that if Mr. Mordecai lost his job, things would be looking pretty bleak.

Today Mr. Mordecai's company announced layoffs and pay cuts. While we'll be taking a 10% pay cut, we're very grateful to be able to say that Mr. Mordecai is still employed. This is the third round of layoffs he's survived, and each one is a bit nerve-wracking. The pay cut is nothing: we can easily live on what we'll have, and we're just grateful to have a job.

Every time I hear about more layoffs, I start thinking. Although we do have an emergency reserve of money--we could probably make it about six months without a paycheck--no one's hiring. It would be incredibly scary to be without a job at this time (or any time, really), and my heart goes out to all those who are dealing with unemployment right now. The possibility is still very real for us.

But then I have to remember whose hands we are in. God loves us. Losing a job is not the end of the world: in fact, it could open up paths to blessings that we cannot even see. And in the end, even if the worst happened and we lost our house and ruined our credit and had to move back in with our parents, we'd still have each other. Our family is what's most important to us, and God is our father. He will take care of us, whether that means that we keep our job or that we lose it and learn a few lessons.

As well as a stash of food to "be prepared", you should also consider what I call a "job search folder".

I made myself a job search folder when I moved here to Houston. What it is is a folder with names, addresses and phone numbers of places you would apply for a job at. I also attached mapquest direction sheets, since I was new in town, but this may or may not be necessary. I also had several copies of my resume, including a "master copy" for faxing. I had a list of fax numbers of places that requested resume faxes, and several different cover letters with sticky notes telling me who that cover letter was going to.

There was also a black pen clipped onto the folder. Must fill out aps in black pen! (Or so they say)

I update my job search folder every six months or so. My husband has one too. We both love our (recession proof) jobs, but you never know.

Why don't you make one for your dh, and one for yourself? They don't mean that you have to look right now, but they are there to just jump into when you do need to.

It is definitely a blessing that your husband still has his jobs. My brother is fortunate to have survived the layoff of hundreds of workers at his employer. He and his wife just regained custody of her son, and are both in recovery (5 years) so they do not have an emergency fund yet. It is so good to know that God is caring for His children!